County exasperated over Warm Mineral Springs

Commissioners vote to begin a dispute resolution process with North Port over the co-owned attraction.

By ZAC ANDERSON

Think marriage counseling, group counseling, anger management and a little psychotherapy rolled into one. Heck, maybe even some hypnotherapy could help.

Sarasota County leaders threw up their hands Tuesday and practically begged for a professional to come solve their dispute with the city of North Port over the future of Warm Mineral Springs.

The County Commission unanimously voted to initiate a formal dispute resolution process with the city over the springs property. Meetings with a third-party “facilitator” should begin within 30 days.

City and county leaders bought the unique attraction — Florida's only warm spring — jointly in 2010 for $5.5 million, with the goal of preserving an important natural resource and encouraging economic development nearby.

They have not agreed on much since.

County commissioners want to entertain development proposals to enhance the spa and other springs amenities. City leaders now want to sell their half of the property but rejected the county's $2 million offer for North Port's share.

County officials considered increasing their offer to $2.75 million Tuesday, but decided it was fruitless to negotiate with themselves.

“Even if we did make another offer, we made an offer once and there was no counter offer,” said Commissioner Christine Robinson.

Outside help is needed to get city commissioners “rounded together,” Robinson said.

“I'm hopeful that everybody will go into it with an open mind,” she added.

Commissioner Joe Barbetta had less faith that the mediation process will help.

“I don't have hope,” Barbetta said, adding that he thinks some of the city commissioners “are intransigent. I don't think they're going to change.”

Barbetta said just getting “an agreement on a facilitator” could be difficult.

The mediation begins with talks between County Administrator Randall Reid and North Port City Manager Jonathan Lewis. If they cannot reach an agreement that both commissions support, a joint meeting with both elected boards will be scheduled and the public can attend.

Failure to reach an agreement likely would push the dispute into the courts. County attorney Stephen DeMarsh said the property could be split in half through a process called partition.

“It's like cutting the baby in half,” said Commissioner Nora Patterson.

Patterson wondered what would happen if city leaders simply refuse to participate in the dispute resolution process. DeMarsh said the county would then have grounds for a lawsuit.

North Port resident Joe Kreisel was not satisfied with the discussion. Kreisel said the first priority should be coming up with a plan to keep the attraction open past June 30 when a contract with the current vendor expires.

County leaders have repeatedly said the springs is likely to close if a deal is not reached soon.

“Figure out a way to keep it open in the first place while you hammer out details that are insurmountable in a four-month period,” said Kreisel, 60, who moved to North Port just to live near the springs.

DeMarsh said the county is legally prohibited from extending the contract with the current vendor. It must go out to bid — with the city's approval — a process that would take at least 90 days.

But Reid later acknowledged that city or county workers could operate the springs temporarily if the dispute drags on. That possibility was not discussed Tuesday.

“Nobody's talking about how to keep it open,” Kreisel said. “It's crystal clear they're not going to solve this problem in time. They need to prioritize.”